Mark J. Barrenechea is an award-winning leader in information technology and joined OpenText as President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2012. In January 2106, he took on the additional role of Chief Technology Officer.

OpenText's software manages the secure flow of information across the exchange of data sets between companies and governments. Mark says combining corporate data with government data opens up new opportunities, delivers commercial value quickly, and provides more meaningful solutions.

“Data is part of our DNA here at OpenText,” he says. “We manage a third of the world’s data behind the firewall. It is our mandate to help global organizations govern and manage their big data sets, while optimizing and mining them to increase productivity, profit, and innovation.” 

OpenText is one of the founding partners of the Open Data Exchange (ODX) alongside the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the University of Waterloo, Communitech, the Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN), and Desire to Learn (D2L). In 2015, when ODX received $3M in federal seed funding, then-President of the Treasury Board of Canada Tony Clement made the announcement from OpenText Headquarters in Waterloo. Mark also interviewed the former minister about ODX [video]. 

Mark sees huge potential for open dialogue to increase transparency and accountability as well as promote innovation and productivity while better meeting the needs and priorities of Canadians.

With regard to the upcoming inaugural Canadian Open Dialogue Forum, Mark said he’s most looking forward to collaborating with attendees at the conference and developing a set of principles and standards to promote open dialogue.

“Together, we can determine the best ways to connect with Canadian citizens and civil society organizations to deliver better citizen-centric services.”

Mark has authored several books, including On Digital, Digital: Disrupt or Die, eGovernment or Out of Government, Enterprise Information Management: The Next Generation of Enterprise Software, Software Rules and e-Business or out of Business.

To keep up with Mark's insights, you can subscribe to his blog, follow him on Twitter or connect via LinkedIn.

Mark Barrenechea will be a panelist on the Leaders Roundtable: Speaking to the Open Dialogue Core Principles on Day 2 of the Forum from 1:20–2:20 p.m. To attend the Forum and engage in the dialogue, register here.

OpenText is one of the sponsors whose generous support makes this inaugural Canadian Open Dialogue Forum possible.